Newsletter No 7, March 2018 Project funded by the European Union Photo: Albert Cmeta Protecting Lake Ohrid TOWARDS STRENGTHENED GOVERNANCE OF THE SHARED TRANSBOUNDARY NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE LAKE OHRID REGION In this issue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Foreword by Albanian Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mr. Blendi Klosi Albania submitted its Nomination Dossier of the Lake Ohrid region Cultural Components of the Lake Ohrid region Nomination Dossier Interview with Venera Domi, Ambassador/Permanent Delegate of Albania to UNESCO Photo Album/50 winners #OurlakeOhrid social media contest Interview with Nikola Paskali, one of the winners of social media contest Portrait/A daily life of fisherman in Pogradec, Endri Pere Saving the Trout of Lake Ohrid Mali i Thate, Pllaja a Pusit- winter destination for 2017-2018 Interview with Eduard Shalsi, Member of Albanian Parliament Lake Ohrid region in world media Publication: Perspectives of Transboundary Cooperation in World Heritage foreword It is a real pleasure to share with all readers of this newsletter the wonderful news about the Albanian Government, who submitted on 1 February 2018 the Nomination Dossier to extend the existing mixed World Heritage property 'Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region' to the Albanian side of the lake. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in South East Europe and one of the most important regions regarding the biodiversity and old human settlements in the whole continent. This region is already listed as a UNESCO Cultural and Natural World Heritage property. Two-thirds of Lake Ohrid, located in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, is since 1979 inscribed on the World Heritage List as the property 'Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region'. This region has the status of a protected area of the 5th category. It is a protected landscape and part of transboundary Biosphere Reserve for Albania and former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. After three years of work by the experts from the Albanian Ministries of Environment and Culture, the Nomination Dossier, which identifies the undeniable natural and cultural values of the Lake Ohrid region on the Albanian side, is already on the table of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris, waiting for the approval by the World Heritage Committee. The integral part of the Nomination File is the Supplement of the Management plan of the Lake Ohrid region, which will contribute to preserving the cultural and natural heritage of the area, cooperating and exchanging experience with stakeholders on the Macedonian side of the lake in a transboundary context. We wish to thank all collaborators and contributors to this process, which will raise the touristic values of the Lake Ohrid region and which will preserve the biodiversity of the region's nature. Yours sincerely Blendi Klosi Minister of Tourism and Environment
Milestone Albania submitted its Nomination Dossier of the Lake Ohrid region On 1 February 2018, the State Party of Albania submitted the Nomination Dossier of the Lake Ohrid region to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The process of preparing the proposal for extending the World Heritage property 'Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region' to the Albanian side of the lake, started in 2011, when Albania expressed its interest through Ministry of Environment to include this part of the Lake in UNESCO World Heritage List. Two-thirds of the lake Ohrid Region on the Macedonian side is listed in UNESCO since 1979-80 as a mixed World Heritage property, with cultural and natural outstanding values. The integrity of this World Heritage property would, however, be significantly reinforced by extending it to the remaining one-third of Lake Ohrid located in Albania. The transboundary project 'Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region' started in 2015. The European Union funded and Albanian co-financed project is implemented by UNESCO in cooperation with the Albanian Ministries of Environment and Culture to assist the Albanian Government in achieving this objective. The project aims to address all the important factors that impact the Lake Ohrid region in order to identify and preserve the main natural and cultural elements of Lake Ohrid region and to improve the cooperation for joint management of this area. Two of the project's main components are: - Preparing the supplement to the management plan for the protected area, with a special focus on the proposed zone, which will be included in the natural and cultural World Heritage property 'Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region'; - Preparing the Nomination Dossier to include this area on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a mixed property, extending the boundaries of the already existing Macedonian World Heritage property, with a surface 11 378.6 ha. We hope that Nomination Dossier and Management Plan will contribute to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of whole Lake Ohrid region. In this framework, Lake Ohrid will have the necessary promotion and visibility to be considered as an area with outstanding natural and cultural values for foreign and domestic tourists. During this period, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment finalized the draft- Supplement to Management Plan, which is also part of the Nomination File. This supplement, passed all the legal consultation with stakeholders and interested groups and is approved by a Minister's order No 292, date 28.09.2017: 'For approving the Supplement for World Heritage Management Plan of the Protected Pogradec Terrestrial/ Aquatic Protected Landscape (PPL). To facilitate the process for writing the Nomination Dossier, the Albanian state party was assisted by a group of 3 experts in the field of nature and culture. The experts completed all the elements of Nomination Dossier and the respective maps during period January-August 2017 in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Culture, Institute of Cultural Monuments, National Agency of Protected Areas and the Pogradec Municipality. A draft of Nomination file was submitted to the UNESCO Office on 30 September 2017, which was the deadline for voluntary submission, in order to have some time for comments and feedback, which arrived at the end of September and all were reflected in the final version of the Nomination Dossier. The Nomination File, together with all the maps and respective annexes was handed over to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris by the Albanian Ambassador to UNESCO Mrs Venera Domi, on 1 February 2018. Elvana Ramaj, Ministry of Environment Cultural components of the Lake Ohrid region Nomination Dossier The Albanian Ministry of Culture has contributed to the preparation of Nomination Dossier, identifying the cultural values of Lake Ohrid region on the Albanian side of the lake. The cultural component of the nomination file includes the cultural monuments and traditional or rural landscape of Lin, the archaeological site of Lin, as well as underwater archaeology identified lately. The heritage of regional ateliers of masters of mosaic and painting during the early Christian period is a strong value that ties the existing part of the Word Heritage property situated on the Macedonian side of the lake with Albania. Prehistoric tradition of house building (palafites) is a characteristic of the area and testifies the close relation between civilisations around Lake Ohrid at that time. The traditional way of building houses in developed areas around the lake in that period shaped an assembly of residential buildings which was in harmony with the natural landscape. The historical centre of Pogradec has some models of vernacular architecture of the 20th century. An important part of heritage is the intangible heritage, spiritual values and traditions that the region encompasses. The co-existence of different cultures and traditions is very valuable for the Lake Ohrid region as a whole. The cultural values of the region include but are not limited to ship building, wood carving, needle works, embroidery, basket knitting etc. Pogradec is considered the city of poets, being the birthplace of well-known Albanian poet Lasgush Poradeci, painters Anastas Kostandini (Taso), Gjergji Lako, Gentian Zeka, Vangjo Vasili and Ilir Dhima, and the photographer Vangjel Cici. The area is known for cultivating different plants and local dairy products, honey, wine and herbal teas as well as medicinal herbs. Traditional dishes makes also an important part of the heritage. Worth mentioning are: Tava e peshkut (Fish in oven), Corba e peshkut (fish soup), Lakrori (traditonal pie), Korani me Arra (Koran with nuts), etc. Sonila Korra, Ministry of Culture 2
Mrs Domi. The Nomination Dossier of the Lake Ohrid region on the Albanian side is already at The UNESCO World Heritage Centre. What is the future of the process? Interview Venera Domi, Ambassador/Permanent Delegate of Albania to UNESCO In the evening of 31 January 2018, I received the electronic version of the Nomination File of the Albanian part of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of Lake Ohrid Region. The Nomination File, in three printed copies and one electronic version was officially submitted, within the official deadline, to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The Permanent Delegation of Albania to UNESCO will continue the dialogue with the World Heritage Centre and its Advisory Bodies (IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM) to facilitate the evaluation process of our Nomination File. Given that this Nomination File is part of the Upstream Process, and has been prepared in close cooperation and with the assistance of the three 2nd UNESCO's workshop in Advisory Tirana Bodies, I predict a relatively easy process and adoption without debate from the World Heritage Committee in June-July 2019. What are the deadlines for extending the Lake Ohrid World Heritage property to the Albanian side of the lake? The timetable of the examination of Nomination Files is established by paragraph 168 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. It provides in detail the steps and their corresponding deadlines. Until 1 March 2018, the World Heritage Centre will evaluate if the submitted file is formally complete and will inform Albania if the file is accepted. Only complete Nomination Files, i.e., files that contains all the documents required by the Convention, are transmitted to the Advisory Bodies for evaluation and eventually will be considered by the World Heritage Committee in its session in the next year, in this case in 2019. The World Heritage Committee usually takes place in June-July each year. Then, until May 2019, the relevant Advisory Bodies will evaluate the file and eventually will visit the sites. During this period, additional information may be presented, if necessary. In May 2019, six weeks prior to that year's session of the World Heritage Committee, the Advisory Bodies will deliver their evaluation and recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. In June-July the yearly session of the World Heritage Committee will take place, which examines the files and decides whether the property will be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The decisions (as well as the recommendations) can be: Not To Inscribe, Deferral, Referral, or to Inscribe. We expect a relatively easy process for our country, a positive evaluation and the recommendation to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List. What are the benefits for the Albanian side of the Lake Ohrid region, after it will be part of the UNESCO World Heritage List? Venera Domi The inscription of a site in UNESCO's World Heritage List is an important moment for the natural and cultural heritage of a country. Aside from the obvious recognition and promotion of the natural and cultural values that comes from the inscription, every inscription marks a further step ahead in their protection because the Convention sets the highest standards for the protection and promotion of natural and cultural heritage. In addition, the reason why every State Party to the Convention are pressed and fight to increase the number of sites in the World Heritage list, is because their inscription offers the best potential for a sustainable development of the region inscribed and the overall country in general. Another advantage is that the inscription on the list generates possibilities for the economic growth of the local communities. For example, one of the almost automatic advantages is the increase of the tourism in the region. Nowadays, the touristic industry is very much linked to the World Heritage List and its new inscriptions. On the other hand, the increase in tourism is closely linked to the development of hotel sector, handicrafts, cultural and creative industries, agro-tourism, etc. It also generates an important potential for the registration of patents with economic advantages on agriculture, livestock or fisheries products, etc., that are closely linked to the region. But this should not be considered as a magical solution to all problems. The inscription just generates additional possibilities. To what extent we can benefit of them depends largely from the local skills. However, in the network of the World Heritage sites, there are many good practices from which we can benefit and we can cooperate with to get successful solutions. UNESCO is trying to transform the World Heritage sites in laboratories of sustainable development, in promoters and locomotives of green economies, in full harmony with the environment and its protection, to leave to our children a cleaner planet and more prosperous life. 3
Photo Album 50 winning photos of the #OurLakeOhrid social media contest The beauty of the Lake Ohrid Region is now featured in a Photo Album, produced by UNESCO and presenting the best photographs of the social media contest #OurLakeOhrid. The contest was organized during Summer-Autumn 2017 on the several social media channels (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) of the project: Towards strengthened governance of the shared trans boundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region', funded by the EU and co-financed by the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment. Participants were challenged to share their experiences of the stunning region, using the hashtag #OurLakeOhrid. From over 400 photographs submitted, 50 winning entries were chosen to feature in this album to celebrate the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region. We wish to congratulate all those who took these beautiful photos and have helped share the beauty and unique values of this remarkable region with the world. The quotes of each winning photo are provided in three languages: English, Albanian and Macedonian. The winners will all get a copy of the #OurLakeOhrid Photo Album of as a gift for their contribution. 4
#OurLakeOhrid social media contest THE WINNERS Klaudio Spirollari Kristina Zaturovska Diaro24horas Zoya Naskova Nikola Paskali Aleksandar Angelovski Iulia Enkelana Enkel Dika Betim Berisha Lidia Janevski Kristi Alla Mihaela Miova Audrey Lesner Mimoza Cholak Slobodan Dimitrovski Lisa Chiou Gjergji Koki Amer Demishi Evelino Tahip Nikola Verusheski Guelbear Anxhela Latifllari Rachel Ling Harry Lesner Mark Fennelly Marija Dojoshevska Altina Ismaili Eduards Muiznieks Ramadan Besim 5
Interview with Nikola Paskali, one of the winners of the social media contest your experience? Mr. Nikola, firstly we would like to congratulate you for the beautiful photos you submitted to #OurLakeOhrid Social media contest. 6 of them are among 50 winning photos of the competition. Your photos are so unique, since they represent the underwater species and the life beneath the lake. What you can tell us about Since I was I little boy, I was in touch with the underwater world, because my father is a scuba diver. Often, I was a part of his scuba diving trips and journeys with his friends and colleagues, which became my first steps into underwater exploring. I practice this sport for almost 16 years now, since my first dive in the Ohrid Lake. After my graduation on archaeology, I combine my two occupations in one - underwater archaeology. Mainly, my research is focussed on existing underwater archaeology sites, but I also explore new undiscovered sites and underwater caves, discovering the flora and fauna. During my scuba diving sessions, I can't miss the occasion and opportunity to take some photographs to show the underwater beauties to the world. But my experience taught me that we need to be very careful, to preserve and protect our lake as a heritage, from every perspective: naturally, culturally, scientific, and touristic. From my point of view, we should strongly keep trying to preserve our heritage. What are the most important things you found in the depth of lake? As the most interesting discovery, I would mention the sunken monoxyl (monoxylon ) - longboat in the waters close the monastery of St. Naum, which was discovered in 2009. It is a wooden floating, sailing object that we called monoxyl, because at first glance it looks like it was made from one piece of wood. Further research needs to identify what type of floating object it is, for what kind of activities it served and during what period it was used. Lately, you have published photos of some sunken boats. How old are they, and do you know their history? What do you do with all your findings? Do you send them to the museums in Ohrid or Struga? The sunken ships in Struga are an interesting underwater site for tourism and scientific underwater explorations. There are two major tugboats and several freight wagons produced in 1887 by an Italian company. Ships are deliberately sunk during the First World War and the site was discovered by divers from Struga in the '80s. There are many different stories about these ships but only with adequate research, we can confirm and answer some questions such as: what type of method is used for their sinking if they are intentionally submerged? Or if not deliberately, why they sunk? Also, by researching the archives, we can find out exactly what they were used for, what kind of cargo was transported? For every new discovery, we inform the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museums in Ohrid and Struga. They are constantly receiving photographs, videos and other graphic materials from underwater discoveries and sites. Findings and artefacts are delivered to the institutions. It is our obligation to inform the museums, since we do not have a centre for Underwater Archaeology in our country, which is more than necessary. Photos: Nikola Paskali, Akvatek How protected is the underwater heritage of Lake Ohrid? Ohrid city and Lake Ohrid are listed as a mixed Cultural and Natural World Heritage site by UNESCO. Institutions are working to protect, preserve and promote the Lake Ohrid as a unique heritage site. Also, citizens and organizations actively participate in heritage preservation. But we can do more and better, I think. Problems still exist and we need strategies to overcome them. As I said before, a centre for underwater archaeology on the Ohrid Lake must be built. We hope this centre to become an international centre for underwater archaeology, which will take care for the protection and exploration of underwater archaeological sites. I am quite sure that other neighbouring countries will also be interested in cooperation and exchange their experiences. It would be of great importance for the preservation and protection of the heritage of Lake Ohrid. You offer diving training at your centre AKVATEK. Do you have some advice for new divers how to protect and not destroy this heritage? The AKVATEK diving centre offers various diving courses, from recreational diving to professional technical specialities. We constantly and tirelessly teach new divers how to behave and to respect the cultural and natural heritage. We warn them that if they move something, or take objects which are precious, valuable information will be lost. Mainly, our students are aware that they are diving into a lake which possesses an enormous wealth in every sense. The main rule is: Watch, do not touch! 6
Endri is a fisherman who lives in Pogradec. Every day he gets up in the early morning to go fishing, which is the only job he does to feed his family. Endri is a father of three kids: a girl and two twin boys. Together with his wife, they are five in their family and Endri is the only person working. Endri says that it is hard to find another job in the Pogradec area, but with fishing they can live somehow. "Unfortunately this is a seasonal job. There are some strict regulations regarding the legal time to fish throughout one year, and we respect these rules", he says. These restrictions have to do with some regulations during the specific times of the year. For each species, especially for Koran, Belushk and Krap, there are limits related to the fishing zone, the time of year, the size of the fish, and the type of fishing licence one can have. Endri, together with 40 other licensed fishermen in the Pogradec area, work only during the allowed time for fishing. Other months they go to the neighbouring country Greece to do some seasonal agriculture works, like collecting cherries Portrait A daily life of a fisherman in Pogradec In photos: Endri Perre or olive oils. This is the routine life of a fisherman in the Pogradec area. Endri loves his job but he can't be satisfied only with it, as like other fishermen he doesn't have stable salary or insurance for its work. But his days are not always grey. He says that the good news is that now the situation in Lake Ohrid is much better than some years ago. The number of fish are growing, and the lake is now much more populated with species, since the fishermen are very careful to respect the legal time of fishing and legal period of throwing fish eggs into the water. On a lucky day, Endri can catch 2-3 kg fish and this is good for him. He sells it in fish collection Macedonian scientists and fishermen have teamed up to start the artificial breeding of a species of trout unique to Lake Ohrid, its tributaries and outlet, the Black Drim river. This is focus of an article of well-known international news agency Reuters about the Lake Ohrid region. Poaching and overfishing have driven the Ohrid trout to the verge of extinction, despite conservation efforts, including a 10-year fishing ban imposed by the Macedonian government that ran until 2014. "The biggest problem is poaching with so-called tangle nets, which have a mesh that is smaller than allowed," said Dimitar, a local fisherman. Under the new conservation program, fishermen from Lake Ohrid use nets to catch spawning fish, carefully placing them in holding containers. Scientists from the Hydrobiological Institute of Ohrid then milk the roe and sperm from the centres in Pogradec for a price less than 10 euro/ kg. With this money he can arrange somehow his economic problems. Endri is happy and optimistic that something is changing for good for his city. The attention of UNESCO, other bodies who trained fishermen how to protect this beautiful heritage, have done their work. It seems that everyone in Pogradec is aware to protect the lake, as it is considered the only vivid property of the locals. Endri is optimistic even for the new touristic developments and some investments from Government. 'I'm happy that everyone now has turned their attention to Pogradec, to do something for better to our lovely and wonderful city'. Saving the Trout of Lake Ohrid Photo: Reuters fish and release fertilized eggs into the lake, said biologist Zoran Spirkoski. "To help both the people and the Lake Ohrid trout... a part of the (trout) population can be... rebuilt through this kind of restocking," Spirkoski said for Reuters. See the full article in this link. 7
Promoting tourism in Pogradec Interview with Eduard Shalsi, Member of Albanian Parliament Mr. Shalsi, some weeks ago you climbed the peak "Pllaja a Pusit", which belongs to Mali i Thate around the Pogradec area. What are the opportunities for tourism in Pogradec with these new attractions? Mali i Thate - a winter destination for the first time Pogradec is more known for lake tourism, especially during the summer, but it hides great oppportunities for adventurous tourism, as well as for historical and cultural tourism. Mali i Thate, is like a pearl which stands proudly by the lake as a dividing station between Lake Prespa and Ohrid. We only knew some famous touristic places such as Lin Mosaic, but there are other hidden gems, such as the Ice lakes of Lukova, Goliku Bridge, Guri i Kamjes, which we are trying to promote lately. I think probably this summer you will see how the youth of Pogradec will promote some very interesting itineraries around Pogradec, which are tending to enrich the touristic products and expand the touristic season in the Pogradec area. Mr. Shalsi, the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid will potentially become UNES- CO World Heritage. What are the plans of Government to develop this area? Firstly, I want to mention some strategic investments that the Government has started in Pogradec, such as the Ring Road and the entrance of Pogradec. The road Lin-Pogradec is fully financed and we hope that the three projects will be finalized in the end of this year. We have financially supported the Municipality of Pogradec to improve the infrastructure of the city. Also we planned to expand the promenade by the lake, but we will do this in accordance with strict criteria that UNESCO applies for this region. There are some other projects for investments in electric power transmission and school infrastructure. Lin and Tushemisht are included in the Government Program for investment in 100 villages, with opportunities in Tourism. Can you tell us more about this plan? The program for Lin and Tushemisht in the Lake Ohrid region is mostly focused on development of rural areas which are situated on lake shore. We plan to have 3 types of projects: interference with public infrastructure, projects for economic development of local communities and training for vocational education. The project will last 3 years, and by its end we hope to have tangible results on employment, tourism, creating an agro tourism network and seeing the impact of infrastructure projects for the respective communities. Meanwhile, the American Fund of Development has started a feasibility study for the area Drilon-Tushemisht to suggest the ways how to better develop the area in continuity of some successful investments they had in partnership with Albanian Government in some other cities (Korca, Tirana, Vlora). 8 Mali i Thate, situated around Lake Ohrid, with its altitude 2288 meters above the sea level has seen many visitors this winter. For the first time, during the winter of 2017-2018, some local tour agencies in the Pogradec area organized tours for adventurous people, to climb this mountain. This tour takes 8-9 hours, climbing to the Pllaja e Pusit, the highest peak of Mali i Thate, all covered in snow. Some hiking has certainly been organised during other seasons, but during the winter climbing this mountain is really difficult. This is mainly because you descend back on the same day, since there are no places where to stay or to spend the night. But everyone who tried this experience, describes it as very rewarding, especially when you arrive on the top of the mountain to enjoy the amazing view. From the summit, you can admire three lakes: Lake Ohrid, Big and Small Prespa Lakes. On a sunny day, you can see these tree lakes very clearly, but if it is a grey day, the lakes are mostly hidden under the clouds. This part of Pogradec is still unexplored even by locals themselves. There are some young people who are strongly promoting the areas around the Lake Ohrid region as very attractive for adventurous tourism. Eduard Shalsi, a member of the Parliament in Albania, representing Pogradec, is one of the persons who climbed the 'Pllaja e Pusit' peak this January. He posted videos and photos from this amazing experience, promoting the wonderful nature of Lake Ohrid in many interviews on local and national tv stations. The cleanliness of Lake Ohrid has often been criticised. Are there plans from the Government to deal with this problem? The World Heritage supplement of Management Plan for the protected landscape of Pogradec 2017-2027 describes exactly the management plan of cleaning the lake. The aim is to stop the deteriorating the situation of chemical and physical environment of the lake and its ecosystem. Among our objectives for the future 10 years we can list the following: -Full treatment of wastewater and industrial waters; -Cleaning and decontamination of Memelisht industrial zone and other mineral areas. We hope this year, based on a study we have, to reduce the level of pollution from the heavy metals sediments in the lake around Memelisht (chromium, nickel, cadmium, iron etc); -Restoring and rehabilitating to its natural state, the Drilon park and the whole wetland complex surrounding it, which is a very popular place to relax and enjoy; -Building a functional system for solid waste collection and disposal; - Organizing an awareness campaign for engaging communities on vulnerary cleaning the lake.
TOURISM Lake Ohrid region, in the focus of international Media The Lake Ohrid region, especially Ohrid city, has been in focus of several International media and travel bloggers as one of the best touristic place which should be visit by everyone. Yahoo Travel wrote an article about the 5 best cities in Balkan list, and Ohrid came in first place, followed by Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade and Sarajevo. 'The Balkans are safe, affordable, and stunning with a rich history and culture! It's no surprise that this region has become incredibly popular to visit over the last few years', says the article. 'Ohrid is a beautiful city, full of old world charm. Its loca- tion right on the edge of the serene Lake Ohrid is hard to beat, and a lovely little town beach and boardwalk help to make the most of its natural charms. Ohrid's major attractions are all located within a remarkably concentrated and walkable area', the article concludes. Culture Trip is another prestigious media who wrote about Ohrid city in the article titled: '19 Incredible Places You Never Knew Existed in Europe'. Ohrid is included between these 19 places. Here is what the article says about it: 'Lake Ohrid is the jewel in Macedonia's already sparkling crown. Once Betim Berisha you've snapped the beguiling lake to death, traipse through countless frescoed medieval churches and uncover ancient Roman amphitheatres'. The Independent also listed 10 best places for travellers in January, and Ohrid is one of the favourites. Here is what Independent writes in its article for Ohrid: 'Ohrid, Macedonia's eighth-largest city, was once famous for having 365 churches, one for each day of the year. Sometimes known as the 'Jerusalem of the Balkans', both the city and Lake Ohrid beside it are Unesco-protected sights. Publication: Perspectives of Transboundary Cooperation in World Heritage With six transboundary or transnational sites out of a total of 41 transboundary World Heritage sites (as of July 2016), Germany is the country with the largest number of sites that are bonded by their values across borders. The people responsible for World Heritage in the transnational or transboundary World Heritage sites in Germany and their partner countries encounter some very specific challenges every day, those of conserving, coordinating, educating and sustainably developing sites across borders. One of the goals of the conference 'Perspectives of Transboundary Cooperation in World Heritage 'Sharing Experiences in and around Germany' was to bring together these experiences as well as to gather knowledge from international cooperation with other World Heritage sites. The subject of this two-day conference, organised from 12-13 December 2016, lies at the heart of the challenges and opportunities faced by the Lake Ohrid region. Successful transboundary cooperation, a sustained exchange of experiences, cooperation mechanisms, legal protection, and teaching and 9 Nikola Paskali learning in a transboundary context are inherent to protecting the cultural and natural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region. By exchanging experiences with other countries facing the same challenges and opportunities, a wealth of experience throughout many years of jointly managing and protecting these sites can be shared for the benefit of the future preservation of the region's heritage. See the link here for more information on the publication about the conference in Germany.
partners Photo: Kristina Zaturovska UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Project coordinator What's next The European Union main financial contributor The Ministry of Tourism and Environment of the Republic of Albania, co- financer Ministry of Culture of Republic of Albania calendar - World Heritage Committee Meeting in Manama, Bahrain (24 June - 4 July 2018) - Lake Ohrid day 21 June 2018 Ministry of Culture of the FYR of Macedonia Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of the FYR of Macedonia ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Protecting Lake Ohrid This is a quarterly newsletter published by the project "Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region". Languages: English, Albanian, Macedonian. The European Union is not responsible for the content of this newsletter. Project page: http://whc.unesco.org/en/lake-ohrid-region Twitter: https://twitter.com/lake_ohrid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakeohridheritage/ Blog: http://lakeohrid.blogspot.al/ For comments/suggestions email: a.fiebig@unesco.org Copyright: UNESCO 10